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Reduce Disaster Risk by Including Women: Happy Women’s Day

Duryog Nivaran wishes all the women of the world a happy Women’s Day, where they will become more visible in the contribution they make to disaster risk reduction and development in general.

To reiterate some key messages drawn for the report prepared towards the Asia-Pacific Input Document for the Post-2015Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Key Area 4: Women as a Force in Resilience Building,Gender Equality in Disaster Risk Reduction:

• The successful implementation of the HFA2 (Sendai Framework) will depend on recognizing and strengtheningthe active but often invisible role women play in all aspects of disaster risk management and resilience building. Mandating inclusive opportunities and options, and choicesfor strengthening women’s engagement in DRM & RB will lead to positive impactsoverall.

• The success of the Sendai Framework will depend on women responsive policy and practice at all levels.Issues such as health, security and Gender Based Violence, access to resources, capacities etc. disadvantage women in disaster risk management and resiliencebuilding (DRM and RB). The level and pace of recognition and the manner in whichthese issues are addressed are unsatisfactory. Focused and prioritizedattention to address these issues is fundamental to achieve the healthy, wealthy and secure nations and communities that the Sendai Framework aims for.

• Local governments and non-state actors such as Civil Society Organisations includingwomen’s institutions have significantpotential and role to contribute to address these issues and achieve the objectives of Sendai Framework and therefore should beincluded within partnerships of the Sendai Framework.

• Monitoring the reduction of specificvulnerabilities of women, inclusion and recognitionof their activecontribution is needed to ensure urgent and accelerated attention tothe above mentioned issues. Mandating this within the Sendai Framework improved monitor isessential.

• Conventional research, particularlyquantitative and formal systems of data collectionand storage rarely succeed in capturing the mentioned issues and contributionmade by women and other vulnerable groups. As the Sendai Framework aims to monitor progress ofpolicy implementation in DRM & RB through loss and damage statistics, special focusand attention should be given to capture women’s contribution and gender issues.

• All partnerships for DRM and RB must be inclusive of women at all levels. This isspecificallysignificant at the local level where effective local risk governance willdepend on women’s activecontribution as they come across as the most reliablestakeholder group.